Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer | |||
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Founded | 1954 | ||
University | University of Pittsburgh | ||
Head coach | Jay Vidovich (8th season) | ||
Conference | ACC | ||
Stadium | Ambrose Urbanic Field (Capacity: 735) | ||
Nickname | Panthers | ||
Colors | Blue and gold [1] | ||
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NCAA Tournament College Cup | |||
2020, 2022 | |||
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals | |||
1962, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 | |||
NCAA Tournament Round of 16 | |||
1965, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 | |||
NCAA Tournament Round of 32 | |||
1965, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 | |||
NCAA Tournament appearances | |||
1962, 1965, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 | |||
Conference Regular Season championships | |||
1981, 1985, 2024 | |||
Conference Division championships | |||
2020-21, 2021 |
Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's soccer (association football) team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's soccer competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field in the university's Petersen Sports Complex. Pitt soccer players have had eight selections as All-Americans and multiple former Panthers have gone on to play professionally. The Panthers have appeared in seven NCAA tournaments and have reached the College Cup twice. The Panthers have been coached by Jay Vidovich since 2015.
The Pitt men's soccer program has it origins in 1951 when Leo Bemis, who was then serving as Pitt's director of men's intramural sports, [2] created a pick-up team at the university which played Slippery Rock University to a 1–1 draw. [3] Through 1953, Bemis continued coaching the team which competed intercollegiately as a non-varsity club sport. [4] However, Bemis was able to convince then Pitt athletic director Tom Hamilton to elevate the club team to varsity status in 1954. [3] Despite starting with no scholarships [5] and no feeder system in place to recruit players, [3] Pitt's first team went 8–1 in 1954, [6] and by 1955, the program had its first All-American selection, Jerome Bressanelli. [3] For the first 20 years of the program, Pitt played their games at various facilities including Trees Field, Forbes Field, Kennard Field in the lower Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh, [7] and even various high schools, with occasional games played at Pitt Stadium, which at the time was primarily reserved for Pitt's football team. [8]
In 1961, the soccer program received funding to provide its first scholarships, [3] and in 1962, Pitt earned its first bid to the NCAA soccer championship tournament, where it lost to Maryland, 3–4. [9] Pitt again qualified for the NCAA soccer tournament championship in 1965, but lost 0–2 on a late goal to East Stoudsburg in game played in muddy conditions at Pitt Stadium. [3] Beginning in 1970, Pitt began play in the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Soccer Conference (also known as the West Penn Intercollegiate Soccer Conference, or WPISC), [10] a conference that Leo Bemis helped to found and in which he would eventually lead Pitt to a conference championship in 1981. [3] [11] When Pitt Stadium had artificial turf installed in 1970 and flood lighting installed in 1973, the soccer team began regularly playing its home games in the stadium, which remained its home through the 1990s. [8]
After a 30-year tenure as head coach, Bemis was succeeded in 1984 by Joe Luxbacher, a former standout player and captain for the program who also served as an assistant under Bemis. [12] Pitt moved from the West Penn conference to the Big East Conference for the 1985 season. [13] In that first season in the Big East, Pitt finished atop the Big East South Division with an undefeated 4–0 record [14] and appeared in the 1985 Big East Tournament where they lost their first game eventual Big East tournament champion Syracuse. Pitt followed that with a second place in the South Division in 1986. Pitt would also finish second in the regular season conference standings in 1992 and 1995, years when the Big East was not broken into divisions, with Luxbacher winning Big East Coach of the Year in each of those seasons. [15] While a member of the Big East, Pitt would advance to the Big East soccer tournament six times, including in 1995, when an injury riddled team [16] set a program record for number of wins, including victories over 11th-ranked St. John's and fourth-ranked Rutgers. [8] The 1995 team lost in the Big East tournament championship game to St. John's, [15] but finished the season ranked 22nd in the nation in the final Coaches' Poll. [17]
Following the demolition of Pitt Stadium in 1999, the soccer team moved its games to various locations, but primarily played home games at Founder's Field in Harmarville, Pennsylvania, an off-campus venue. [18] The program returned to campus when it moved into the Petersen Sports Complex, which houses the Ambrose Urbanic Field soccer facility, in the spring of 2011. [19] Ambrose Urbanic Field, which serves as both the practice and competition venue for the Pitt soccer team, contains 735 seats and a FIFA-certified "Duraspine" pitch. [20] The first game held at the soccer facility was an exhibition played by the men's team against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on March 20, 2011. [21] The team also uses the on-campus Cost Sports Center for indoor practice during inclement weather. [22]
In 2013, Pitt moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), bringing the Panthers into another historically strong league with 15 national championships in men's soccer. [23] Luxbacher retired as coach following the 2015 season. [24] Jay Vidovich, a former national collegiate coach of the year, was hired as Pitt's head soccer coach in 2015, [25] and has led Pitt to top 25 rankings, [26] five NCAA tournament appearances, and two College Cups. [27]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Position | Staff |
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Athletic director | Heather Lyke |
Head coach | Jay Vidovich |
Assistant coach | Bryce Cregan |
Assistant coach | Josh Oldroyd |
Assistant coach | Zack Schilawski |
Nat. | Name | Period | Pl. | W | L | D | Honours | Notes |
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USA | Leo Bemis | 1954–1983 | 355 | 166 | 163 | 26 | ||
USA | Joe Luxbacher | 1984–2015 | 560 | 224 | 267 | 69 | 1992 Big East Coach of the Year 1995 Big East Coach of the Year | [30] |
USA | Jay Vidovich | 2015–present | 182 | 95 | 68 | 19 | 2020 ACC Coach of the Year 2021 ACC Coach of the Year | [31] [32] |
Pitt has had seven different players and nine all-time All-American selections. [33]
Pitt played soccer as a member of the Big East Conference from 1985 to 2012. During this time, Pitt's Joe Luxbacher won the Big East Coach of the Year award twice, Ben Garry was named to the Big East All-Rookie team, and Pitt had seven other All-Big East Team selections. [15] Players all garnered multiple Big East Scholar-Athlete Awards with over 100 players being named Big East Academic All-Stars. [34]
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In 2013, Pittsburgh began play in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Panthers did not receive an all-conference award until 2020, when they won five out of the six all-conference awards.
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The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I. ACC football teams compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-eight sports with many of its member institutions held in high regard nationally. Current members of the conference are: Boston College, California, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, faculty, and students. Pitt fields 19 university-sponsored varsity teams at the highest level of competitive collegiate athletics in the United States: the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for American football.
The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's basketball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games in the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers were retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion twice by the Helms Athletic Foundation and once by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Pitt has reached one Final Four, received 15 First Team All-American selections, appeared in 27 NCAA tournaments through the 2022–23 season, and has recorded 1,674 victories against 1,232 losses since their inaugural season of 1905–06.
Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt women's basketball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays their home games in the Petersen Events Center. The university first sponsored women's basketball on the varsity level in 1914 and have appeared in five straight national post-season tournaments between 2006 and 2010.
Joe Luxbacher is an American former soccer player and coach at University of Pittsburgh. He spent one season in the North American Soccer League and at least one in the American Soccer League.
The 2009–10 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Jamie Dixon, who was in his 7th year as head coach at Pittsburgh and 11th overall at the University. The team played its home games in the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 13–5 in Big East play and lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Big East men's basketball tournament. They received an at–large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning a 3 seed in the West Region. They defeated 14 seed Oakland in the first round before losing to 6 seed and AP No. 25 Xavier in the second round.
The Pittsburgh Panthers baseball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate baseball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt baseball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays their home games at Charles L. Cost Field in the Petersen Sports Complex. It is the university's oldest recorded sport, dating to 1869. Prior to joining the ACC in 2013-14, Pitt had won both the Big East Conference regular season and Big East Tournament championships. The Panthers have also received four First Team All-American selections, and have appeared in three NCAA championships. 52 Panthers have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.
Jay Vidovich is the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh men's soccer team. He is the former coach of the Portland Timbers 2 of USL Pro and formerly served as Wake Forest University's head soccer coach from 1994 to 2014, posting a 225–87–31 record during that span, including a 60–7–4 mark from 2012 through 2014. He was named the NCAA Men's Division 1 "Coach of the Year" by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in both 2007 and 2008. During those seasons, Wake Forest won the 2007 NCAA D1 Championship over Ohio State University and finished with a 22–2–1 record, and were ranked #1 for most of 2008, before falling in the Final Four to North Carolina. During the 2009 tournament, the Deamon Deacons fell to the eventual national champion Virginia Cavaliers.
Pittsburgh Panthers women's volleyball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate volleyball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt volleyball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games in Fitzgerald Field House. Since the founding of the volleyball program in 1974, the Panthers have had a winning season all but four years, have one of the nation's top all-time winning percentages, have appearances in 23 national championship tournaments, and have won conference championships in 17 different seasons including eleven as a member of the Big East Conference and six since joining the ACC.
The 2010–11 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Jamie Dixon, in his twelfth total year at the university. The team played its home games in the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and are members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 15–3 in Big East play to capture the regular season conference championship. As the 1 seed in the 2011 Big East men's basketball tournament, they were upset by 9 seed Connecticut in their first tournament game. They received an at-large bid in the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as the 1 seed in the southeast region. They defeated 16 seed UNC Asheville in the first round before being upset by 8 seed Butler in the second round.
Joe Jordano is an American college baseball coach and former collegiate baseball player. He most recently served as head coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers baseball team. He held that position from 1998 season to 2018. Prior to his tenure at Pitt, Jordano was the head coach at Mercyhurst College. Jordano led the Lakers to unprecedented success and left as the winningest coach in Laker history. Upon his departure from Pitt, Jordano earned more wins (588) than any coach, in any sport in Pitt history. His teams re-wrote the Panther Baseball Record Books and had over 70 plus players go on to play professional baseball. Currently, Jordano is the head coach of the National Team/Black at the world-renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Pittsburgh Panthers softball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate softball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt softball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays their home games at Vartabedian Field in the Petersen Sports Complex.
The 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference men's soccer season was the 63rd season of men's varsity soccer in the conference.
The 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference men's soccer season was the 64th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference.
The Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team represent the University of Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I women's college soccer. The team has never won a conference championship. The Panthers have played in both the ACC and Big East.
The 2019 Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer team represented University of Pittsburgh during the 2019 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Jay Vidovich, in his fourth season. They played home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 66th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 7th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 2020 Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer team represented University of Pittsburgh during the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Jay Vidovich, in his fifth season. They played home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 67th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 8th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 2021 Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer team represented the University of Pittsburgh during the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Jay Vidovich, in his sixth season. They played home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 68th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 9th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 2022 Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer team represented the University of Pittsburgh during the 2022 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Jay Vidovich, in his seventh season. They played home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 69th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 10th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 2023 Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer team represented the University of Pittsburgh during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Jay Vidovich, in his eighth season. They played their home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 70th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 11th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.